Director:
Kristian Levring
Starring:
Janet McTeer
Olympia Dukakis
Tony Maudsley
JJ Field
Brenda Fricker
Release: 25 Jun. 03
IMDb
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The Intended
BY: DAVID PERRY
So far, the inconsistencies of the Dogme founders after their
dabbling with the manifesto have been astounding. While the best, Thomas
Vinterberg, went onto make a completely incomprehensible think piece (It’s
All About Love), and the worst, Lars von Trier, has delivered the best
Danish films in decades (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and The Five
Obstructions, the mediocre ones, Søren Kragh-Jacobson and Kristian Levring,
have evidently been waiting in the wings, wondering if they should go
full-blown theatrical (like Vinterberg) or hint at the purity of Dogme (like
von Trier).
With The Intended, Levring finds a middle ground: neither theatrical nor
pure, its production is just rote, lethargically going from one scene to
another with paltry effect. His Dogme film, The King Is Alive, wasn’t
terribly different, at least in storytelling. Again, he’s dealing with
characters stranded, the unknown settings slowly eating away at their souls.
But what he hasn’t evidently considered since, other than how to make
Dogme’s shoddy production design look attractive, is what an uninspired
story this makes. The ideas behind Heart of Darkness seem to be dangling in
front of him but he doesn’t have the energy to fight for it. One of the most
compelling aspects of Apocalypse Now, especially after seeing Hearts of
Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, is the true struggle Francis Ford
Coppola endured for the film. His career was never the same, but he at least
got a masterpiece out of it. Levring, perhaps compelled to have some
semblance of respectability in his future endeavors, seem more than willing
to forever remain in mediocrity.
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